New scheme for unmarried and single women is only an announcement so far: no government resolution, and no amount, eligibility or application process yet

Several Marathi news sites on Thursday reported a new state scheme for unmarried women. As of 22 October, no such scheme has officially been launched. The reports rest on a remark by Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, who told an event in Pune that the government is getting ready to bring a new scheme for single women. There is no government resolution (GR) or cabinet decision, and none of the basics have been announced: no name, no benefit amount, no eligibility rules and no way to apply. So there is nothing to apply for yet.

What is actually known

• Who said it: Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, at a state-level awards ceremony in Pune organised by journalists' bodies (as reported by Saam TV and Lokshahi)
• For whom: Patil spoke of 'single women'; those reports do not quote him describing a scheme only for unmarried women
• The survey: information is being gathered on school and college students who have lost their father, and about 3 lakh single women have been identified through it so far, Patil said
• His estimate: more than 12 lakh single women in the state
• Not yet announced: the scheme's name, benefit amount, eligibility, documents, where and from when to apply, the budget, and which department will run it
• Official record: there is no press note on such a scheme on the government's Mahasamvad site, and no report mentions a GR

'Unmarried' or 'single'?

Some headlines called it a scheme for unmarried women, but the minister's remark was about single women. When the state's single women policy was discussed in May, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Meghana Sakore-Bordikar listed widows, deserted women, divorced women, unmarried women and women running a household on their own. According to a government statement of 5 October, women who live independently, without depending on anyone, will also be covered by the policy. Unmarried women are therefore one part of a wider group; no separate scheme only for them has been announced.

Where the single women policy stands

• Budget speech: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a survey of single women in every district, to be used to plan measures for them
• 23 May: the Women and Child Development department said it had set up a drafting committee for the policy through a GR, coordinated by the department's commissionerate in Pune
• June: suggestions invited from single women, citizens and voluntary organisations; local bodies told to mark 23 June, the UN's International Widows Day, as 'Single Women Day'
• 23 June: Minister Aditi Tatkare put the number of single women in the state at roughly 50 to 55 lakh
• 5 October: Tatkare said the 'Single Women Empowerment, Protection and Overall Development Policy 2026' would be brought in soon, covering ten areas including social security, economic empowerment, health, shelter, property and inheritance rights and legal protection, with six committees; Zilla Parishad areas alone have 23.95 lakh single women on record

There is no word yet of final approval for the policy or a GR bringing it into force. Nor is it clear whether it will include a direct cash benefit.

The 'single parent child' plan in higher education

Patil's own department is separately working on support for the children of single mothers. According to a government statement of 12 June, he directed that college admission forms carry a separate 'single parent child' column and that a high-level committee study hostel priority, counselling and other concessions for such students. Prahaar reported that a nine-member committee chaired by Dr Hemlata Bagla, Vice-Chancellor of HSNC University, submitted its report on an 'Educational Assistance, Protection and Empowerment Policy 2026' to the government in late September. No final decision on that policy has been announced either.

The numbers do not match

Patil put the number of single women in the state at more than 12 lakh. The Women and Child Development department said on 5 October that 23.95 lakh single women are on record in rural Zilla Parishad areas alone, and in June the minister estimated the statewide total at 50 to 55 lakh. It is not clear which survey Patil's figure comes from.

What to do for now

• There is no form, registration or website for this reported new scheme today. Be wary of social media links, forms, or anyone offering to register you for a fee.
• If the scheme is announced, its GR will appear in the Government Resolutions section of maharashtra.gov.in, and official details will be published on Mahasamvad (mahasamvad.in). Check eligibility and documents there.
• For schemes single women can already use, ask at the district Women and Child Development officer's office. According to the government, the Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Bal Sangopan scheme gives ₹2,250 a month for the children of single, widowed, deserted and destitute women.
• Working women's hostels are available for working women who are single, unmarried, widowed, divorced or separated, subject to a monthly income limit.

Sources: Mahasamvad (DGIPR): single women policy, 5 October 2026; Mahasamvad: Minister Aditi Tatkare, 23 June 2026; Mahasamvad: drafting committee for the policy, 23 May 2026; Mahasamvad: suggestions invited, 19 June 2026; Mahasamvad: 'Single Women Day', 17 June 2026; Mahasamvad: 'single parent' children in higher education, 12 June 2026; Mahasamvad: Women and Child Development schemes, 10 April 2026; Saam TV; Lokshahi; Tarun Bharat (Nagpur); Prahaar: policy for students from single-mother families